Marco Perego: The Being
Jeffrey Deitch is pleased to announce The Being, a solo exhibition by Italian born artist Marco Perego. Perego works across mediums such as video, installation, and drawing.
The Being is composed of a set of elements— a screen, a sound system, a scent diffuser, and a switchable film on the windows— which forms a network of influences and responses. It observes and reacts to the presence of the visitor and is animated by the rhythm of the solar system. As visitors enter the gallery, their facial expressions are captured and transferred to The Being. The Being adapts to the visitor’s emotional states as they observe the screen. The “heartbeat” of The Being materializes through the film on the windows and is guided by real-time data from the Sun. The room intensifies when it is empty, as if it were desperately trying to communicate. When a person enters the exhibition and sits down, images begin to appear on the screen. When two people synchronize their breathing, the rhythm of the screen and that of the glass align, releasing a scent of petrichor. The installation exists in a constant state of flux, connecting the deep time of distant space to the present moment, suggesting a form of shared consciousness that extends beyond the span of a human life.
Born 1979 in Vimercate, Italy, Marco Perego works in Los Angeles and lives with his wife and their three children. His artistic practice is driven by a deep interest in transformation and transcendence. Perego’s work responds to the turbulence of contemporary life, seeking to spark conversations about the constant changes unfolding both in the world around us and within ourselves. Perego’s works have been exhibited internationally at the Michele Maccarone Gallery in New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA; the Museum of Modern Art in Bologna, Italy; the National Archeological Museum in Florence, Italy; the Rennie Museum in Vancouver, Canada; the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, PA; and Untilthen in Paris, France. His works are included in the public collections of the Museo Jumex in Mexico City, Mexico; the Rennie Museum in Vancouver, Canada; the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, CA; and the Pinault Collection in Paris, France. In 2024, the artist participated in the Venice Biennale as part of the Vatican Pavilion. His first feature film, The Absence of Eden, was produced by Martin Scorsese. The screenplay was acquired by the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures as part of its permanent collection and his short film DOVECOTE was shortlisted for the Academy Awards. Following Perego’s exhibition at Jeffrey Deitch, the artist will return to the Centre Pompidou-Metz to present a project made in collaboration with the institution.